My Double Jaw (2 Jaw) Surgery at IDEA Plastic Surgery Clinic by Dr Jin Hoon

[shermainetsj]

This is going to be a long read and I'll be sharing my recent 2-jaw surgery experience and recovery for those who are planning to have this surgery done. Being someone who has been through it, I can understand the anxiety of recovery process and reading other people's sharing does helped towards mental preparation. I'm currently 1.5 months post ops and still in the midst of recovering. So far my recovery wasn't bad at all, it was quite a breeze and totally different from what I've expected it to be.

BACKGROUND:
For those who had read my previous reviews here,

1) Zygoma and SMAS Facelift https://beautyhacker.com/forums/topic/975644-my-zygoma-facelift-experience-at-idea-plastic-surgery-clinic-oct-2017/
2) Rhino and Double Eyelid Revision https://beautyhacker.com/forums/topic/986767-my-experience-n-review-on-view-plastic-surgery-clinic-revision-rhinoplasty-double-eyelid-surgery/
3) Genioplasty https://beautyhacker.com/forums/topic/1002220-my-genioplasty-experience-to-remove-chin-implant-at-idea-plastic-surgery-clinic-by-dr-jin-hoon/

You would probably know I've done a couple of procedures and quite satisfied with my
As-Is result. However, there is one thing that still bothers me which is my long mid face and showing too much of my upper teeth when I laughed. I'm not so much on having gummy smile but rather I've gigantic front teeth. Some orthodontist suggested shaving it smaller n going for another round of braces, however I'm not keen of going through that again since I already had it done 15 years back. Nevertheless, I still wish to get those eye-sore issues fixed one day but I'm just too chicken to undergo the only procedure that could do it which is the 2-jaw surgery.

I never thought I would ever considered this surgery after reading so many reviews on how hard a 2-jaw recovery could be. Although I have mild malocclusion class 2, I do not have functional bite issue after my braces. So to go for 2-jaw surgery was purely for aesthetic reason which makes me even more reluctant of going through the painful recovery process just for that, and whether the improvement will be worth the pain. Neither do I want to compromise any functional aspects like bite or nerve damage as well. TBH, I do not know how my guts got awakened one day when looking into the mirror and this 2-jaw idea came into my mind. But that was how it kicked off my exploration and going for the surgery this time.

From the start, I have already shortlisted to get this surgery done by either TFD Dr Lee or IDEA Dr Jin due to my previous consultation and surgical experiences with them. Moreover, both of them were the ones that ever brought up how the 2-jaw surgery may change my face shape.

CONSULTATION:
The Face Dental:
Most of the consultation was done online directly with Dr Lee via kakao. I appreciated how he took the time to addressed my queries/concerns and explained in detailed to me personally. Dr Lee was very patience and I really wondered how he managed consultations, surgeries and even appointments scheduling all by himself. He is a real multi-tasker. Dr Lee highlighted I would need a minimum stay of 14 days for initial recovery and 2 days prior to surgery for consultation and surgical wafer preparation, so my entire stay of 21 days should be more than sufficient. During face-to-face consultation, he used a 3D mophic software to show me his surgical plan and a mock up of the after surgery bone structure which I thought was really helpful in visualising. Dr Lee suggested upwards vertical reduction of 4-5mm for the midface and slight setback to reduce the upper jaw protrusion. Lower jaw will be rotated which give a more pronounced chin. And he suggested vline surgery (genioplasty with jaw shaving) since I wanted a sharper jawline. During online consultation, he highlighted his concern on sagging and soft tissue considering my age and suggested buccal fat removal with underchin lipo to address it, however during face to face consult, he only brought up underchin lipo as he said I've lose weight since I last met him (I did lose 4kg after he asked me to do so, although I was already underweight then). Braces is not necessary for me as my teeth is fine and he is not going to change the occlusion. Dr Lee actually had a surgical plan closer to what I wanted from the mock up that he showed me.

IDEA Clinic:
Since I had several surgeries done by Dr Jin previously, he has all my records. There was not much online consultation, mainly forwarding the same set of queries/concerns to Weina (Coordinator) which were addressed. What I did differently was I had my teeth mould done and delivered to them prior to my visit due to time constraint. They would required 4 days prior to surgery for wafer preparation and my recovery period would be shortened if I were to push back my intended surgical date. Dr Jin shared his surgical plan with me during face to face consultation which was somewhat different from TFD. He suggested only a maximum vertical reduction by 4mm with no change in occlusion. He highlighted that with the reduction, I would possibility need another facelift later to addressed my excess soft tissue which I was aware and prepared for. He will only removed the bones to the point where my soft tissue sagging will not reached a point of no return and even a facelift couldn't fixed that. I thought it was good that he pointed that out which many doctors actually omitted the soft tissue part when comes to facial bones reduction. Dr Jin mentioned my result would not be a drastic one since my face was not very long to begin with. He also pointed that I might only see the final result after he do a facelift later. He rejected to do setback and additional chin projection as he focused on the overall face balance and proportion and didn't want me to look older after the surgery. Considering my age (late 30s), anti-aging should be the key. I was actually a little disappointment for his honesty of the subtle change and at that point, I was thinking of backing off and not proceeding with the surgery anymore.

To be continued...

 

[shermainetsj]

What makes my final decision:
I was really torn off between Dr Lee and Dr Jin. Dr Lee's plan was closer to what I wanted but there is an uncertainty on how my soft tissue would react, whether it will changes to make me looks older after the surgery. On the other hand Dr Jin's plan only give a subtle change but it will not be worse off than now. I had a deep thought and had the following conclusion:
- I do not wish to compromise what I have now and looking worse off with a drastic change.
- I could have a CT scan with excellent skeleton shape but end of the day, it is the soft tissue wrapped around that people actually sees your face.

Being a facial bone and anti-aging expertise, Dr Jin is more experienced in the relationship between bones structure and soft tissue, likewise Dr Lee has also done lots of 2-jaw surgery just not so specialised in soft tissue. I could have gone to TFD Dr Lee for the 2-jaw and to IDEA Dr Jin for facelift later, but I would want to go with the more conservative surgical plan that takes into account both soft tissue and bone structure and not risked looking worse than now and no one could fixed it later.

Another factor that brought me closer to my decision was clinic aftercare. I did have some uncertainty on TFD aftercare especially when I consulted with them on genioplasty previously and was told they do not offer overnight stay for that even though it was a bone surgery. On the other hand, I was confident of IDEA aftercare having had 2 most invasive surgeries done there before. That was how I made my decision to go with IDEA Clinic Dr Jin.

SURGERY DAY 0
So my surgery was scheduled the very next day at 2pm. I had all necessary checks i.e. blood test, ECG, urine test, pre-ops consultation completed and pre-surgery photos taken by Dr Jin one day before. I arrived in the clinic at 130pm on the day of surgery, feeling pretty relax, got changed and did the standard pre-ops preparation, then off I was sent to the operating theatre. The moment Yilan (translator) led me into the OT, I started to get a little nervous. But I knew I'll be in good hands when I saw Dr Jin, 2 surgical nurses, and Dr Kim (Anaesthesiologist) all ready and waiting for me. While the nurses got me prepared on the surgical desk, Dr Kim inserted the IV on my arm, it was fast and minimum pain. Dr Jin came to tell me that they have prepared to do a blood transfusion for me during the surgery due to my existing thalassaemia condition. At this point, Dr Kook, IDEA''s stem cell surgeon, also came in to shake my hand (* so comforting*) before I was finally got knocked out into la-la land.

The next moment I heard Weina calling my name and telling me that surgery was over. I woke up noticing I was already in my ward which I'll be staying for 2 nights. First thing I took a peep at the time, it was 530pm, surgery took approximately 4hrs. I'm glad I did not experienced any breathing difficultly when I was awake which most people said they had it right after 2-jaw. Pain level was about 5 compared to my facelift experience which was probably 7.5. The most painful part was my throat from the intubation and I wasn't able to speak up. I tried moving my mouth, I could feel my jaw and it wasn't tied shut, for a moment I felt so relieved. The only discomfort was my nose bleeding non-stop like running nose, but with blood that was flowing out. Shortly after, Dr Jin came in to check on me. He saw that my nose was bleeding too much and that was when he inserted the breathing tubes into my nostril to stop the bleed. That process was probably the most uncomfortable moment which I even tried to resist at a point of time. As usual, I wasn't allowed to drink water for 4hrs, but somehow I didn't feel that miserable this time round, it passed really fast. My friends were with me half the time and remaining hours I was busy texting on my phone. Around 9pm, Dr Jin came to check on me again before he left the clinic. He explained to me that the 1st night will be harder to pass and the breathing tubes will helped to minimise swelling and blockage of the airway. I though that was really comforting. During the entire night, I didn't get much sleep, not due to any discomfort, but rather I didn't feel sleepy at all. I tried to get myself tired by doing some reading but time crawled really slow. My energy was well enough to walk to the washroom by myself (although was told not). The only time I buzzed for the bell was because the breathing tube dropped out and blood started dripping out from my nose. Other than that, the nurse came to give me antibiotics and painkiller every 4hrs. So most of the time I just tried to close my eyes but wasn't really sleeping throughout the night. I was counting down to dawn every hour till Dr Jin appeared in my room. I was a little shocked when I saw him as it was only 530am. He came to check on me the moment he reached the clinic, I was really touched. Never met any doctor more dedicated and caring like Dr Jin. He removed my bandage and breathing tubes, and my nose started pouring blood again. Although it was painless, I was literally hugging to the dustbin and grabbing tissue paper to hold the blood. At some point, Dr Jin offered to help me empty the dustbin, and I felt really guilty to let him do that for me. After the bleeding got better, Dr Jin said I should get some sleep, and he dimmed the lights before leaving the room for me to rest.

POST SURGERY DAY 1:
Dr Jin tied up my mouth this day. I was asked to bite on the surgical wafer and rubber bands were used to secured both jaws for guiding the bite. Since I had no braces, 4 screws had been pre-installed during surgery on my upper and lower jaw for the rubber bands. The rubber band shut didn't hurt but felt like back to the days of having braces, where the jaw was tight and weak without strength. Since I was on liquid diet, clinic prepared some green soybeans milk and nutritious grinded bean drink for my meals which tasted really nice and filling. By afternoon, I could feel the swelling on the face started to build up. The only discomfort I had was the painful throat and congested nose, and with the mouth tied up, I couldn't coughed out the phlegm from the mouth. Fortunately I brought along Acetylcysteine which I took it to help loosen the thick mucus. The clinic also helped to wash my hair which felt so good and refreshing after that. This day passed with lots of walking and wandering around the clinic throughout the day.

POST SURGERY DAY 2:
As I had mild difficulty in meeting my bite on the left, Dr Jin checked on my occlusion and x-ray again to make sure everything was alright. Since it was still early in the recovery, I wasn't too worried at this point. Stayed in the clinic till around 7pm before I was discharged. I was given powdered medication for 2 weeks of consumption to bring back. I felt more swollen than Day 1 but was energetic enough to take the subway back to my Airbnb which was 4 stations away.

To be continued...

 

[shermainetsj]

POST SURGERY DAY 3 to 5:
Went for follow up on day 3 and Dr Jin gave me the green light to start eating soft food. I was encouraged to train up my bite muscle. He also taught me how to replace the rubber bands so that I could do it myself since clinic will be closed over the weekend. Swelling wise I really looked like a chipmunk and was asked to stop wearing the compression head band which makes me swell more with that on. So I started off my first non-liquid diet with oyster porridge and slowly moved on to pancakes, omelette, ginseng chicken soup, Korea seafood pancake and even malatang. In the beginning, it was quite challenging to chew as I barely had the strength to do it. The jaw didn't feel like mine at all. But once seeing all the delicious food on the table, rest assured you will try all way out to eat them.

POST SURGERY DAY 5 to 10:
Had follow up with Dr Jin everyday and I updated him on my recovery journey on the food that I've tried eating. I was released from wearing the surgical wafer from Day 10. My previous worry on my left bite not meeting was resolved with just the rubber bands on. I was really relieved Dr Jin has kept my bite well as this was one of my major concern before going for the surgery. I was back to my nightly retainer for my teeth and was glad that the retainer still fitted perfect after so many days not wearing it. Without the wafer also means I could finally talked and not relied on text messaging anymore (Oh yeah!✌). With that, I also upgraded the food challenge to my favourite Kkanbu fried chicken. I managed to eat them, paying extra attention to chew slowly. Although swelling did got better as days passed, I still felt my face bloated like a balloon.

POST SURGERY DAY 11 to 18:
My recovery went really well. I was busy exploring Seoul and even went Gyeongbokgong Palace in hanbok for photoshoot on Day 11. Most people couldn't tell I just had such an invasive surgery although I felt my face looked like a hamster. I still had difficulty doing a full smile as my upper lips felt numb and cheeks were stiffed to move. Throughout these period, I continued trialing different food to train up my 'new jaw' and gained 2kg from there. Kind of disappointed I didn't get to lose some weight which most people did after 2 jaw surgery.

My recovery meal kit also included couple of supplements which I've brought ie. Sinecch Arnica, Bromelain, Mend Cosmetic protein shake and MSM powder, Redoxen Vitamin C and Multi-vitamins, which I usually started taking them 1 week prior to surgery to condition my body. I supposed they did helped in deswelling and getting my body back to work from the surgery trauma.

As for post surgery treatment and wound care, I visited the clinic almost everyday during my entire stay in Seoul. Under Dr Jin's extensive aftercare and supervision, I was able to recover fast and smooth. I returned back to my country on Day 18 post ops and started work 3 days later. Met my orthodontist for review 1 week after my returned and he was impressed by my surgery outcome. He confirmed that my occlusion was well maintained and I do not need to undergo any braces for correction. Yippee!!! I just need to be on a new removable aligner every night to maintained and stabilised my bite now. The 4 screws for the rubber bands were left and I'm still putting them on diligently everyday (only removed during meals). I was advised that it is best to have the rubber bands on for up to 6 months as relapse could happened during bone healing, however first 1-3 months was most critical. Nevertheless, that doesn't bothers me, anything is better than going through the braces process again I'll be returning to Seoul to have the screws removed 6 months later.

To be continued...

 

[shermainetsj]

OVERALL EXPERIENCE:
I'm glad I finally got the courage to underwent this surgery and I do not regret my decision. Although I've yet to see the final result, I felt my recovery journey was way better than what I've expected. Besides lady luck smiling on me, I believed Dr Jin's skill and technique played an important part in minimising trauma that allowed me to have a swift recovery.

Once again, Dr Jin's professionalism and honest opinion further reinforced my trust on him. He does not recommend unnecessary procedures that would compromised the well being of patient, especially when he said during consultation that he could simply go with the way that I requested for. However, he remained firm in his plan with much considerations, as he wanted to make sure that he could keep any potential soft tissue issues within his control such that he could fixed it later on. I felt that was really responsible of him to take into account the long run repercussions of any bone surgeries. In terms of functional aspects, he had extended his concerns on my well being and the follow up with my orthodontist even after I've returned from Seoul.

All-in-all, I'm happy with my choice and look forward for my face to deswell more to see the final outcome soon.

Sharing my before and after X-ray below:

Apology for the long-winded review and I hope my sharing is able to help those planning to have 2-jaw surgery have a better feel and idea on what to expect.

 

[pakune]

This review is really detailed thanks for sharing
Do you have any before pic please ?

 

[gmcnm19]

Do you think MSM and protein shake helped a lot and does it make you gain weight? I've brought multi vitamins to prep myself for the surgery, however I'm a bit afraid that taking MSM and protein post op regularly might make me gain weight and become muscle-y . T_T

 

[shermainetsj]

Pakune said: ↑

This review is really detailed thanks for sharing
Do you have any before pic please ?

Click to expand...

I can show my before pic in PM.

 

[shermainetsj]

gmcnm19 said: ↑

Do you think MSM and protein shake helped a lot and does it make you gain weight? I've brought multi vitamins to prep myself for the surgery, however I'm a bit afraid that taking MSM and protein post op regularly might make me gain weight and become muscle-y . T_T

Click to expand...

I'm not sure if it helped but I've been taking it. Mend Cosmetic is not just protein shake, it contained Arnica and Bromelain for deswelling as well.

I've not noticed weight gain due to consumption of the 2 specifically.